Runaway
by Velvet Laughter
Summary: A granddaughter no one expected to see again shows up on Bobby's doorstep, running from a bad life. What chaos will she introduce into the lives of the Mercers? R&R if you please.
1. Chapter 1

Hey there! This here is a story I posted years and years and years ago, under a different account. It's the very first story I ever wrote. Or at least the very first fanfiction. So I hope you all enjoy it. Its in the process of going through some major revamping so I'll post chapters as I finish them.

Enjoy my lovelies! ~

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

It was ten pm when the taxi pulled up in front of the Mercer house. It was summer, and the sun was setting, casting the sky in a beautiful array of pinks and purples with small hints of orange. It was a beautiful sight, but Arista paid it no attention at all as she stepped out of the cab and onto the cracked pavement of the sidewalk. She was nervous to say the least. But meeting new people was always nerve wracking, especially when it came to family you didn't know you had. She ignored the nervousness the best she could and paid the driver once he had hefted her two bags from his trunk, setting them on the ground beside her.

_What am I even doing here? She probably wont even remember me. I was like two years old the last time she saw me._

These negative thoughts had taken hold of her mind these last few days as she sat on the greyhound bus, Detroit bound. She always shook them off, but they always seemed to return, no matter how hard she tried to think positively about the outcome of this meeting. And now that she was here, in front of her grandmother's house, they returned ten fold to plague her already frayed nerves. But she was determined. All her hopes were placed in a single old woman she couldn't even remember, and who she was positive wouldn't remember her. She had to try though. With a last deep breath to calm her anxiety she picked up her bags and made her way up the cracked walkway. Up the old steps, weeds and grass growing up between the cracks in the cement. Without a second thought, giving herself no time to over think it, she set her bags down and lifted a hand to rap sharply on the door. It was only a few seconds before she heard footsteps and the door was pulled open to reveal a stalky, tough looking man. He looked to be in his late twenties with dark, slicked back hair and a fair sized build. His expression wasn't exactly friendly, and Arista took an alarmed step back, not having expected this.

He waited for a few moments, waiting she assumed for her to say something. When she didn't he spoke. "Can I help you?" His voice was kind enough, and tinted with mild confusion at the sight before him. A young girl standing on his doorstep, two bags at her feet.

"I-I...I think I must have the wrong address, I'm so sorry to have bothered you." She apologized rather nervously, all the while wondering how on earth she managed to get the wrong house.

She bent to pick up her bags, wincing slightly as she did so, and whipped around. She was in a near state of panic as she took a step forward, wondering how she was supposed to find her grandmother in this foreign city. But she wasn't left long to wonder as she let out a startled yelp, breaking the silence of the still night. Bobby's hand had stopped her from leaving, gripping her wrist lightly. He couldn't know about the many bruises that littered her arms from similar grips, though Jake's grip had been much harder then his. There for he took the noise to be a yelp of surprise rather then pain and turned the girl around to face him.

"Who are you looking for?" He asked curiously, thinking he could at least offer assistance, he'd grown up here after all and he knew a good deal of the people.

"Evelyn M-Mercer." She stuttered. A nervous habit of hers, one she thought she could do without.

"What do you want with her?" His eyes roamed over her face suspiciously.

"Shes...Well, shes my g-grandmother."

Bobby's look of suspicion quickly turned to a look of surprise before regret seemed to dominate his features. This confused Arista, and she frowned up at him, wondering what could cause the sudden switch from suspicion to regret. A bad feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.

"Listen, I'm her son, Bobby Mercer. Would you like to come in for a moment and talk?" He opened the door wide at this point, inviting her into the house.

"I'm not gonna bite!" He snapped, causing her to jump, when she didn't immediately move to enter. Her indecision was written clearly on her face.

"Alright." She replied nervously before walking through the door, leaving as much space between her and Bobby as she possibly could. This earned her a quizzical look from the man, his eyebrow quirking up as he watched her.

He led her through the house to the kitchen, where Jack was loading the dishwasher. He looked up as he heard Bobby's footsteps. "Who's that?" He asked, spotting the young girl behind him. She couldn't have been more then sixteen. "She's a little young for you dontcha think?" He teased, earning a frown from both Bobby and Arista.

She was beginning to feel more then a little edgy. Not liking the idea of being alone in a house with two strange men. In her short life Arista had learned to fear men and their tempers. Not that either had yet displayed any sort of a temper.

"Shut up fairy," Bobby shot back at Jack.

"This is Ma's granddaughter..." He looked at her expectantly then, realizing he had yet to get the young girl's name.

"Arista."

"Arista this is Cracker Jack and I'm Bobby." He introduced, motioning lazily to Jack. "Here. Have a seat." He pointed to the table in the middle of the kitchen, ignoring Jack's glare.

Arista sat hesitantly at the table after dropping her bags by the entrance to the kitchen. Jack, now studying her curiously, sat at the other end. He hadn't known Ma to have grand children other then Jerry's two kids. This was certainly news to him, and quite honestly he was surprised Bobby was taking this at face value, it wasn't exactly in his nature not to question. And he wondered if Bobby knew something he didn't, because as far as Jack knew, the four of them were the only children Ms. Mercer had ever adopted, and her only biological son Jay was long since dead. And she was far to old, and white, to be either Jerry or Angel's child, and she certainly wasn't Bobby's or his.

Bobby joined them at the table, settling himself beside Jack, hands resting on the wood of the table before him. There really was no easy way to say, no sugar coating he could apply, so he just came out and said, though he didn't go into much detail.

"Arista, there was a shooting last thanksgiving, our mother was killed."

A heavy silence filled the kitchen as the two Mercer men watched Arista process the grave news. To think, she had been so terribly nervous about meeting her, and now it seemed it didn't matter. She only barely kept a hallow laugh from escaping her lips, swallowing hard instead. Her very last hope had been shattered. She certainly couldn't ask to stay with these two men, she wasn't even sure she wanted to. Her experience with men was limited to her mother's dead beat boyfriends, and they hadn't left her with good impressions.

"I'm so sorry." She finally managed, her voice a dry whisper.

"What did you want with her?" Bobby repeated his question from earlier.

"I-I had been hoping she would let me stay here for awhile. I d-don't have anywhere else to go..." Her watery voice trailed off then as the full realization of her situation hit her.

Whether or not she wanted to stay with strange men didn't matter anymore, she really had not one other person she could turn to. She was utterly alone and helpless, and try as she might she couldn't push back the crushing wave of hopelessness that washed over her then. And she couldn't stop the tears that had welled up in her eyes from falling, they streaked down her pale checks, dotting the wood of the table.

Jack stared at her, pity in his eyes. "You could st-" He was cut off abruptly by a sharp jab to the ribs. With out a word Bobby stood, pulling Jack with him into the living room, shutting the door behind him.

"What do you think you're doing, offering her a place to stay. We don't even know her and she doesn't know us." His voice was hushed, not wanting to be overheard by the sobbing girl in the other room.

"Ma didn't know us and she took us all in. She'd want us to help her granddaughter."

"We don't-"

"Bobby, look at her!" Jack argued, shoving the door open a crack so they could peer in at the small figure sitting at the kitchen table, before closing it again. "She has no where else to go, at least let her stay for a few days. Come on!" Jack usually wasn't motivated to argue so fiercely with Bobby, Bobby was after all his idol. But the thought of Arista out on the streets, wandering around a dangerous city like Detroit pulled at his heart.

A loud, rather annoyed sigh escaped Bobby, and Jack knew he had won.

"Alright. One night." Bobby held up a finger, his face stern. "One."

The two brothers made their way back to the kitchen, Jack heading straight for the table, where Arista was drying her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater, and Bobby leaning in the doorway. Arms folded across his chest.

"Listen, I know we're strangers to you, but you can stay here for the night, its a helluva a lot safer then wandering around the city." Jack offered kindly.

"I-I don't w-want to impose." Her voice was watery with tears and she sniffled as she spoke. She still wasn't at all sure about staying in the house with them, but really what other choice did she have? None.

"Nonsense. We have two extra rooms." Jack waved away her feeble protest. "Really its fine. Come on, I'll show you where you can sleep."

"Alright..."

After picking up her bags Jack led Arista back through the house and up the stairs, her bedroom was to the left of the stairs. It was Angel's old room, he'd moved out with Sophie last year. Her and Bobby just weren't meant to live under the same roof. He'd taken pretty much everything aside from his unmade double bed, and the dressers.

"I'll get you some clean sheets and blankets. If you want to take a shower, the bathrooms just right there," He pointed to a door just beside her room. "And towels are in the closet beside it."

She really didn't feel like showering, she was utterly exhausted. As soon as Jack had made the bed up for her and left she shut the door and fell into the soft bed, not even bothering to undress. She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow. All her fears about staying with strangers forgotten.

~o~o~o~

"Bobby, did you know about Arista?" Jack asked once he'd come back downstairs.

The older Mercer nodded. "Yeah, when Ma first adopted me her son Jay was living here with his baby."

Jay had been Evelyn's only son that hadn't been adopted. He and Bobby had got on fairly well, and they had been pretty good friends before he had died two years after Bobby's adoption. But Ms. Mercer was a strong woman and she kept her son's memory alive through old photographs which to this day stood on end tables and dotted the walls of the house. Neither Bobby nor the rest of his siblings had been able to take down their mothers things.

"When he died, Arista's mother took her away. She didn't bother to tell anyone where she was going and it broke Ma's heart to have her granddaughter ripped away so. I guess that's why she never talked about her much." He wished his mother could be alive to see her. Evelyn would have been so happy.

"So what are we going to do with her?" Jack asked, knowing full well that it was up to Bobby whether or not she stayed. If he didn't want her here, she wouldn't be here it was as simple as that. But Jack truly hoped he would change his mind. From the looks of things she really needed them. And it was what Evelyn would have wanted. Family had always been the most important thing to her, right up there with helping children.

Bobby had been thinking on this. Sure, he had said only one night. Could he really turn her out though? Ma's granddaughter, that she would have given anything to see again? It just wasn't right. And everyone knew under his tough exterior there was a soft heart. He just didn't like to show it.

"I guess we let her stay as long as she needs to. She owes some explanations though. I want to know what she's running from." He did have his suspicions though. She seemed just a little too skittish.

~o~o~o~

The next morning brought with it confusion. It took Arista a few moments to remember where she was, and then to remember the awful news she had gotten. And she was hit once more with her hopeless situation. She couldn't go back to her stepfather's, and she didn't know if she would be allowed to stay here past this afternoon. But she guessed she would think on that later, as her tummy gave a particularly loud grumble. First priority was food. She'd barely eaten anything on the bus here these last few days.

She quietly made her way down the stairs and to the kitchen, not wanting to wake either boys if they might be sleeping. Though she needn't have worried. Bobby's gruff voice soon caused her to jump a little in surprise.

"Well if it ain't sleepin' beauty." He greeted from behind his paper as she walked into the room.

"Can I have something to eat?" She asked a bit nervously.

"No. I'm gonna let you starve." Was his overly sarcastic reply. "Of course you can have something, help yourself." His tone was a little softer now, once he realized she thought he was serious.

"Thanks."

It only took her a moment of digging about in the cupboard to find cereal a bowl and spoon. Despite her hunger she didn't pour too much, she knew if she ate too much at once it would only make her feel ill. Seating herself across from Bobby she dug into her food, devouring it in a matter of minutes.

"I'm gonna go take a shower...if thats alright...and then I'll be out of your way." She told him after she'd washed her dishes and placed them back where they belonged.

She was just about to leave the room when Bobby spoke up. "You can stay as long as you want. Its what your grandmother would have wanted. But if you stay we're going to have to lay out some rules."

"Rules?" She couldn't disguise the nervousness in her voice.

"Look." His irritation was clear in his voice. She reminded him far to much of Jack when he had first come to the Mercer home. "You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not gonna hurt you."

She did want to believe him oddly enough. But her bad experiences made her wary, "Ok..." She agreed hesitantly.

"We'll talk after your shower. Go on."

She did as bid and quickly hurried off to shower. Once she was in the bathroom she removed her shirt, wincing at her reflection in the floor length mirror on the door. She was a mess. It hurt to look at her soft pale skin, littered as it was with bruises. Her torso, around her ribs, was one big mass of black and blue, with hints of green as older bruises were healing. And her arms were wretchedly covered with finger like bruises. They all told the story of her life living with Jake, her stepfather and legal guardian since the death of her mother. She sighed sadly at her pitiful reflection and began to unbutton her jeans.

Unfortunately for her Jack was used to living only with Bobby, it meant nothing to him that the door was closed, they were all used to using the same bathroom, whether someone was in the shower or not. And even more unfortunately Arista had forgotten to lock the door. Her surprised and horrified cry echoed through the house as Jack turned the knob and pushed the door open.

"I'm sor- What the hell happened to you?" He asked wide eyed, staring at her.

"Just...Just get out!" She shrieked, flustered. She wasn't long in placing her hands on his chest and pushing him out of the bathroom, before slamming the door and leaving him staring stunned at the old wood and chipped paint of the door.

She spun around, and leaned her back against the door, hand on her forehead. She hadn't wanted anyone to know. And now they would ask questions. Questions she wasn't inclined to answer.

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><p>If you liked it, or even if you didn't, drop me a line lemme know whatcha think.<p>

Velvet ~


	2. Chapter 2

Oh wow! Awesome, thank you all who reviewed, already this rewrite is better liked then the first attempt haha.

To Straightlife116: Haha oh so you've read the original? It was aweful eh? I was so young . But I'm really glad your liking the rewrite!

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

Bobby was downstairs watching a hockey game on tv when Arista's shriek reached his ears. He rolled his eyes and moved his feet from the coffee table where he'd been resting them, and set the remote aside as he stood up. There was no real cause to worry. No one else was in the house besides Jack and that boy couldn't hurt a fly, but he was annoyed, and a little curious of the cause of her loud scream.

"What the hell's going on up there?" He called from the bottom of the stairs, making his way up them as he spoke.

It didn't take him long to reach the top of the stairs, greeted with the sight of Jack staring stupidly at the door. But Jack turned to face him almost as soon as he'd stepped into the hall. He looked a little pale. As if he'd seen a ghost, and Bobby was even more intrigued, but Jack just shook his head and motioned towards the stairs. His meaning was plain, he wanted to talk away from the door and the girl behind it making Bobby wonder just what had happened.

"Whats goin on Jack?" The older Mercer asked once they were in the kitchen.

"Man...She was covered in bruises...I didn't mean to walk in on her...I just never thought about it, I'm so used to it being just me and you...But you should have seen it. It looked as if..." He couldn't bring himself to say it, the thought bringing up painful memories. But Bobby had already had his suspicions, and Jack had just confirmed them.

Seeing another person beat up like that really took him back to when Evelyn had adopted him. He'd looked just as bad...maybe even a little worse. And some long buried emotions rose up in him. He absolutely loathed anyone who would beat on someone so small and helpless. And he wasn't sure if the anger and hatred stemmed from his past or if he was angry at who ever had done that to her, or if it was a mix of the two. But he did know if he ever found out who dealt those marks he was going to give out a beating of his own.

Bobby's thoughts were much the same as Jack's, though they had a slightly more violent theme to them. Bobby had grown up strong and tough. But he hadn't always been. His own child hood memories surfaced now. And it made him more determined to help her. Save her like Evelyn had done for all of her children. Even the ones that she hadn't adopted.

~XoXoXoX~

Arista let the warm water from the shower wash over her, calming her racing mind. When she had left her stepfather's she had intended to leave the past behind her. She had intended to take her dark secrets to the grave, quite literally. Maybe that was a bit extreme. But she didn't think so. It was humiliating, and she felt ashamed. Like she should have been able to stop it somehow, like it was all her fault. And what made it all the worse was that logically, she _knew _that it wasn't her fault. He was just a sick man looking for a punching bag to unleash his frustration. And then she just felt bitter and angry.

A heavy sigh, laden with anger and frustration, escaped her lips as she turned off the water. She would have liked to stay in there all day, avoid the questions she knew were coming. But it really wasn't like her to avoid conflict...it was almost worse, in her opinion, to delay unpleasant things. Because then you just let all the anxiety you felt build up until its all you can think about. It was always better just to get it over and done with as quick as possible. Just like getting a shot.

She ignored her reflection this time as she dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a black v-neck shirt, with her hoodie pulled over it. And then with a final deep breath she opened the door and listened for voices, following them to the kitchen where Bobby and Jack were still sitting at the table. They had stopped talking by the time she reached them, both seemed lost in their thoughts. It wasn't until she spoke that either of them looked up.

"I don't want to talk about it." She stated, not giving them the chance to even ask. "Ok? I'll follow your rules. But I..I don't want to talk about anything that's happened before I showed up on your doorstep." Her expression was almost pleading as she looked from one to the other.

Jack's jaw almost hit the floor when Bobby replied. "Ok. Sit down I'll lay out the rules for you." Bobby always needed to know what was going on with the people around him. It amazed Jack that he agreed so easily. Then again he always had a soft spot for kids like Jack and Arista. He didn't like to push them.

"Ok. Here's how it's gonna work. If you're staying here you're going to school as soon as september hits,.." Bobby paused here, that was as far as he'd managed to get. He'd never raised kids. Sure he'd been the oldest of his brothers, but he'd never had to go making rules and shit for them to follow. His role had mainly been protector. "Think of me as your legal guardian or something... I want to know where you're going and I want you home at a decent hour."

A few more rules followed. None of them were as terrible as she had feared. In fact they were all fairly reasonable. The only one she really had an issue with had been going to school and that mostly stemmed from a fear of Jake finding her through school records. He was sneaky like that, and he had a few friends in high places. But that fear was soon squashed. She would be enrolled as Arista Mercer. An added benefit to the name was the weight it had behind it. Arista wouldn't have to worry about being bullied or picked on, no one messed with a Mercer, not when they had to face Bobby afterword.

After their little discussion the rest of the afternoon was spent getting her settled into her new home. It was just her and Jack, Bobby had left for work not long after they'd finished talking. She enjoyed the youngest Mercer's company. He was quiet, just like her. It made an easy companionship between them. Once they'd unpacked her two bags they'd gone down to the living room and threw in a movie. It was odd how quickly she adjusted to being there, when the night before she'd been shaking in her shoes just looking at Bobby in the doorway. He was still an imposing figure, but she knew now he wouldn't hurt her. That wasn't to say that she trusted Bobby, or Jack. Trust took time, and when you went through what she did, it took awhile to earn. But she wanted to trust them, and that was something at least.

The day ended fairly early for her, she had dinner with the two boys (Bobby had brought home pizza) and then at nine she decided to turn in for the night. Bobby and Jack were watching a hockey game (Arista had never really been one for sports.) Which left her bored and tired. She could definitely do with catching up on lost sleep, her week of travel to Detroit had really drained her, even after the good nights sleep she'd had the previous night.

Unfortunately for her she didn't get the good nights sleep she wished for. Not long after her eyelids closed in sleep started the beginnings of a nightmare, and she was forced to relieve a piece of her painful past.

_ She had detention again. She had been talking during a lesson and had the misfortune of being caught. That made the third time in two weeks. Her eyes darted to the clock impatiently, he was going to be so angry! Her foot bounced nervously on the floor as she waited to be let out. Maybe, just maybe, if she could get home fast enough she could wipe the message from the school off the machine and get her cleaning done before he got home. God only knew what he would do if she didn't. _

_ He hadn't always been so short tempered, but since the death of her mother he seemed to have a short fuse. He'd even taken to hitting her a few times. Nothing to bad, she thought she could deal with it. But in all honesty she was beginning to fear him. And she had every reason to. She didn't make it home in time. He was sitting on the couch waiting for her when she walked in. She didn't see him at first, she was to focused on getting to the answering machine. But she froze midway, Jake's voice stopping her._

"_What? You thought you'd hurry home and erase the message? Did your mother and I raise you to be that sneaky and deceitful?" His tone was harsh as he asked the question. _

_ He'd gotten up from the couch to lean against the wall, watching her with a furious gaze. "That's your third detention this month, you want to tell me why you feel it necessary to disrupt your teachers?" _

"_I...I-" She didn't know what excuse she could give that wouldn't worsen the situation, but she was cut off before she could even try,_

"_You what? You don't care about the education I pay for? You're too smart for school?" His voice became heavy with sarcasm as he stalked forward. _

_ Arista backed up as he came towards her, she knew what was coming next, he was too angry now to just let it go. He reached out and latched onto her wrist, his grip was painful and she tried to pull away to no avail. _

"_I'm sorry! Really. I-I promise n-not to do it again." _

"_I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" He mocked, his face twisting into a sneer. "That's all you ever seem to be able to say." He lashed out then, striking her across the face with the back of his hand. It was a hard blow and she would have fallen back into the stand the phone sat on if he hadn't still been gripping her wrist. As is was she was down on one knee. _

_ He let go of her wrist then, his hand tangling instead in her strawberry blond hair. He pulled her up to face him, tilting her head so that she was looking at him. "I'm sick and tired of this behaviour. You'll really be sorry if this happens again. I promise you." He shoved her away from him, his face an angry mask as he sent her careening into the table, knocking it down, its contents flying across the tiled floor. Arista landed on top of it with a small cry of pain as her ribs connected with the solid wood of the legs. _

_ He looked at her with disgust, "Clean that up." And then he was gone up the stairs to his room leaving her lying there._

_ Her bloody lip had begun to quiver as he walked away, and her eyes glittered with tears, but she refused to let them fall, at least until he was out of sight and hearing range. She wouldn't let him see how much he'd hurt her, emotionally or physically. _

"Wake up!" Arista's eyes snapped open at the gruff command.

Her first instinct was to push Bobby away, sitting up and scooting down the bed, away from him. Her face was tear stained, a few tears still leaking from her eyes as she looked over at Bobby with out recognition. That came soon enough though, she blinked a few times and looked about the room all the while wondering how loud she had screamed this time to have woken him up. And she was positive she had been screaming. This unfortunately had been a common occurrence while she travelled. It had been quite embarrassing to be woken up by concerned strangers on the bus. And it was no less so now with Bobby.

"What's going on?" Jack asked groggily from the doorway.

"Nothin' just go back to sleep." Bobby ordered from his spot sitting on the edge of the bed. He didn't take his concerned gaze off Arista as he ordered his younger brother away.

"Are you ok?" He asked of her, once the sound of Jack's door being shut reached him.

She took a deep breath and focused her eyes on the blanket, not really seeing it. Her knees were hugged up to her chest, her voice barely a whisper as she spoke. "He started hitting me shortly after my mom died. I was only twelve. I never told anyone, I thought I could handle it. It didn't happen often, and I kept thinking it was something I'd done, eventually I started believing I deserved it. But it got worse the older I got..." She paused to take in a shaky breath. "I had to get out of there...I-If I had stayed he would have killed me one day." She didn't know why she was compelled to tell him this, she had intended never to tell another living soul about any of it. But there were still things she held back, things she would never tell.

Bobby didn't say anything, instead he unexpectedly leaned forward and wrapped his arms about her. Arista's first reaction was to stiffen at the contact, but it wasn't long before she melted into him, wrapping her own arms about his neck. She found comfort in his embrace, and oddly enough safety.

~Velvet


End file.
